New Year Resolutions for Lehigh Valley Sports

I did this kind of post for 2013 and the IronPigs (read it here ), but the landscape has changed. In the past two years I’ve become a season ticket holder for two more teams–the SteelHawks and the Phantoms. Here are my “fan” resolutions for all three teams for the 2015 season(s):

SteelHawks:

Don’t miss more than one game, maximum. Look, there are only six regular season home games–assuming they replace the defunct Harrisburg team. There’s no excuse for me to miss more than one. Even if it means missing an IronPigs game or two. And I’ll move Heaven and Earth to get to a home playoff game!

Stop complaining about the color of the field. It hasn’t been announced yet, but I’ve got a feeling the field color will not be green. Hey, my pool table isn’t green either. Plus, no one wants to hear me complain–and there’s nothing I can do about it anyway. I should just stop, right here and now.

Try to get to an away game. I’ll drive out and support the new owners if someone can resurrect the Harrisburg team–otherwise I guess it’ll be Trenton. Either way I want to help support the team on the road, if I can.

Buy some food and drink at the arena. There will be many more food and drink choices at the PPL Center arena, compared with Stabler–AND, the purchases will help support the team. Since we won’t be able to tailgate, I’ll just eat inside at some of the games.

Support any pre-game festivities. Perhaps we’ll be able to organize some kind of pre-game “event” within Chickie’s or the BrewWorks–and I want to be there to support it, what with the lack of tailgating and all.

Buy some gear. I’ve already got a ton of Phantoms stuff, and enough IronPigs stuff that my bedroom closet is now referred to as the “Majestic Clubhouse Closet” by family members. It’s time to show some love to the SteelHawks. Plus, if I’m going to more games, I’ll have the opportunity to wear it!

Phantoms:

Stop missing games. I thought I had this covered. There were a few October/November/December weekend dates that I had to miss due to previous commitments. But nothing schedule for the new year–until just recently. It’s got to stop. I hate missing games.

Lay off the Crabby Ale. It’s the official beer of Chickie’s and Pete’s, and it’s quite tasty. Plus, they have these neat pitchers in there which keep your beer cold. Alas, I think the “Crabby” is making me fat. Back to light beer for this guy. (note: This one will probably get broken within the week. Asking too much, methinks.)

Sit in my seat more often. I love the Miller Lite Loft, but I’m probably spending too much time up there. I like my seats and need to be there more often. Plus, it’ll carry more weight when I yell at the people behind me to get them to stop kicking my seat.

Eat at the concessions more often. This is like a “Bizarro” IronPigs resolution, but there are some concession items I want to try. Plus, it will help me write a “Concessions of the PPL Center” post.

Check out some of the other downtown restaurants for “pre-game” meals. Look, I love Chickie’s and I love the BrewWorks, but as above, I’ve got to diversify. Some of those downtown spots are kind of “upscale” but not all of them. Plus, I could just throw on my jersey after dinner if it’s not appropriate attire. And, it could help me write a “restraunts for Phantoms pre-game meals” post.

Learn more about the sport. There’s a lot more that goes on during a hockey game than just the goal shot and the pass beforehand. I’ve got to get better at watching the players without the puck and appreciating their skill.

IronPigs

Use up my loaded ticket credit. The “loaded credit” is available once again to season ticket holders for the first half of the season. Last season, I occasionally “saved” it for later in the game. Sometimes it went unused. That can never happen this season. Plus, I’ve got to figure out some “advanced” strategies, and I’ll post them here.

Stop buying gear with bacon on it. I wasn’t on board with the whole bacon campaign from the beginning–although I did support the concept of additional jersey and cap designs. Now, there’s a bacon cap to match every uniform, and I’ve got to cut down on my caps anyway, so I’ll avoid:

Monday thru Thursday

Friday Black

Alternate Saturday Red

Sunday Powder Blue (too late–already got it…)

No more jerseys. Seriously, what am I? Rick over here? 😉 Although mine are all home jerseys, I’ve got to stop. I’ve got enough different jerseys to wear a unique one to each game in a home stand–regardless of how long. I’ve got enough different sizes to wear one over my winter coat in April or over a T-Shirt in August. I don’t need any more, and my kids don’t like to wear them themselves. And pretty soon no one will understand why I’m wearing a Juan Morillo jersey, anyway. One thing that will help: If it doesn’t button down the front (or at least pretend to) it’s not a baseball jersey. I can live with the Sunday pullover, but the rest have to be button or they’re just practice jerseys. As above, I supported the new gear designs, but now it’s time to lay off. Unless, of course, I’m trying to use up my loaded ticket credit…

Remember to support the “outside” concessions. Recall that a number of the concession choices are “outside” tenants of Coca Cola Park. They pay rent regardless of attendance or sales. With the advent of the loaded ticket credit, I’ve got to remember to pick up a few things from the “rent-paying” concessions at Coca Cola park–where the loaded value doesn’t work–in order to support them. Philly Pretzel, Gyros, Nuts, Corn and BBQ in particular.

Only bring one car to the games. Now that parking is going to cost more ($5, according to sources) I’ve got to be careful about bringing more vehicles than necessary. We’ll have more on Coca Cola Park parking changes, soon.

Remember to relax. It’s the main reason I love the IronPigs games–time to relax. Many times the past two seasons I’ve been caught up thinking about other issues or attending to things elsewhere in the park. Those were good things and important at the time, too. But, I resolve in this new year to sit in my seat, take a deep breath, sip my beverage, and let the game come to me.